


Three Strikes and You're Out

by tormental



Category: TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Baseball, Crushes, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-15 03:10:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18490108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tormental/pseuds/tormental
Summary: Kai had always had the biggest crush on Taehyun, the biggest star of the baseball team. He never planned to do anything about his overwhelming crush until it's suggested he joins the baseball team. Kai doesn't mind falling over himself while running bases if it means that he can be near the boy he loves.





	Three Strikes and You're Out

**Author's Note:**

> tw// mention of slight internalized homophobia in the start, nothing major at all
> 
> anyways this is just a cute lil kaihyun oneshot i'm writing as a suggestion from an ex. it's taken me way too long to write this, u have no idea. also didn't read through the whole thing so if u find errors please ignore them since i know i'll notice them eventually.

The sun was too hot that day in August, though Kai didn't mind much. He was too busy sitting outside the batting cages with his best friend Soobin, waiting for the baseball boys to make an appearance.

Most people would take a look at him and think he's crazy for waiting here everyday, and it typically got worse when he tried to explain why exactly he had frequented the baseball field in the first place. Problem was, he could never truly give the accurate reason as to why he was there. Only Soobin knew why, and if anyone found out, he would probably die completely on the inside. He couldn't risk anyone finding out. So that was why he had to come up with a separate reason, and as it turned out, Kai was a terrible liar.

Truth was, Kai had the biggest crush on the first year baseball player, Kang Taehyun. He could never pinpoint why, either. Maybe it was Taehyun's cute facial features, like his wide eyes or his long smile. Maybe it was the way he laughed, or even the overly philosophical things he would say when someone was in need of advice. It could've been his determination when it came to his school work, or even his spirit when he played baseball. All of it. Yeah, it was definitely all of it.

Problem was, he had never truly spoken to Taehyun even though he desperately wanted to. Taehyun was, without a doubt, the most popular boy in his entire year. Kai had always watched Taehyun, even before it registered as a crush. In fact, everyone seemed to watch Taehyun. It was almost impossible not to. He was that person that could seemingly never do any wrong.

When Kai had figured out he possibly had a crush on the boy, internalized homophobia set in. He figured he was gay, but never really had an experience to prove that. Eventually he came to terms with it, and that was mostly thanks to talking it out with Soobin. Now, Soobin just made fun of him every time Taehyun came around.

There Kai was, squatting on the ground, just simply waiting. He was a loser, absolutely nothing when compared to Taehyun. The blades of grass harsh between Kai's fingers as he twirled them. He could feel Soobin loom over him, eyeing the field hopefully.

After minutes of silence, Soobin finally spoke up. "Do you think Beomgyu and Yeonjun are going to be out there today? They usually are, right? I mean, I don't tag along with you often so I'm not sure."

Kai snorted softly. "Yeah, they're always here. I mean, they're apart of the team. I'm pretty sure Yeonjun is team captain, anyway. Either that or he's just been there the longest out of everyone. Anyway, they've practically taken Taehyun under their wing too. It's kind of cute, actually."

Soobin rolled his eyes, his hand setting on Kai's shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. I know, you mention him every five seconds. I know you think he's cute, I know you're practically in _love_ with him."

 _Love_. Did he love him? Kai had never thought about it that way. Hell, it didn't even make sense. He had only had about half a conversation with Taehyun before, and that was in the middle of chemistry when Kai didn't know how to balance an equation. He knew he had a weird look on his face, and Taehyun couldn't help but pick up on it. Taehyun had awkwardly leaned over, almost falling out of his chair, and asked Kai if he had needed help. The answer was yes. He totally needed help. So Taehyun helped him, and Kai practically drowned in anxiety during those three minutes. By that point, Taehyun had moved from his chair and was sitting on his knees by Kai's desk, looming over Kai's paper. Kai didn't pick up on anything Taehyun had said in the moment, he was too concerned with the fact that the boy he hopelessly looked at for so long took initiative and helped him. Surely it wasn't love. It wasn't at all possible.

Kai gulped and turned his head sharply. "No, shut up, I _don't_ love him. I'm not that insane."

Soobin laughed, roughly patting Kai's head. "Sure, dude. Sure."

"What? Like you haven't had a thing for both Beomgyu and Yeonjun before? Especially Yeonjun… Trust me, I’ve read your ‘dream journal’." Kai sneered. If you could even call it a dream journal. He figured the content in that thing could be sent into a porn studio. It was absolute filth. Pure, unadulterated, filth.

A weird noise rose in Soobin’s throat as he tried to counter and deny what Kai had said, but Kai only interrupted with a series of brief profanities and insults. Of course he didn't mean any of it, he was just messing with Soobin, but there was definitely no denying Soobin had a small crush on either of the boys Kai listed.

 _He didn't love him._ He just really really really liked him. A lot.

Before Soobin could fire back, the boys of the baseball team stepped out.

And there he was. Taehyun.

Taehyun looked ever so confident as he strolled out on the field, clad in his white uniform with detailing colored navy blue. "Kang" was etched into the upper back of his uniform, and under it sat the number '3'. He wore a baseball cap, slightly shielding his eyes from Kai's view. But, Kai could still get a sense of where his eyes wondered. Taehyun looked better today than usual, though Kai almost couldn't understand how that was exactly possible. Kai was absolutely absorbed. He felt his breath hitch as Taehyun sauntered by, glancing at him out of the corner of his eyes.

The rest of the team followed Taehyun, out to the center. Shortly after him, both Yeonjun and Beomgyu made an appearance. It was funny to Kai because right when Yeonjun and Beomgyu happened past them, Soobin sharply inhaled and shot up closer to the fence where Kai was.

This was normal. The baseball boys never questioned why Kai and Soobin were always there, they sort of regarded the two as "cheerleaders", but Kai and Soobin weren't aware of that fact. It was more like an inside joke between the members of the team. In fact, when Kai and Soobin temporarily got distracted with each other, Taehyun always stared at Kai and slightly grinned.

Kai was wrapped up in everything Taehyun did. So much so, only Soobin could pull him out. "Hey, Kai, I have an idea."

"What?" Kai questioned, turning his attention to Soobin, who leaned against the pole near them. "Better not be something stupid... or I swear to god..."

Soobin smiled. All he could see in said smile was filth. "No. It's not stupid at all."

"Then what?" Kai asked, while glancing slightly back at Taehyun.

"You join the baseball team. I actually think it would do you some good."

Kai's eyes widened. He had never thought of that before, but it seemed very plausible. He had some athletic ability, it wasn't like he was useless or anything. It was mostly the confidence factor he was worried about. Even when walking in front of Taehyun, Kai always felt anxiety wash over him like an ocean that was overflowing after one hell of a rainstorm. There was no way he would be able to play baseball with him. He would probably fall on his face within the first thirty seconds. Though Soobin was smart, and his idea would bring him closer than he probably ever would be. "Yeah... it's worth a shot." Kai then continued to watch Taehyun until practice ended, and he went home. The next day, he was going to just show up to practice. Soobin had used to play baseball and so he gave Kai all of his old equipment.

Though just walking up and saying he wanted to join would be more difficult than Kai had originally thought. For starters, he didn't know anything about baseball so how would he even make the team in the first place? Also, he was always so nervous around Taehyun he could barely function. These thoughts ran around his head until suddenly a burst of consciousnesses slapped him upside the head and there he was. Standing at the baseball field, the team in front of him.

"Should we even let him on the team?" One questioned, rubbing his arm. "I don't know, can he even play?" Another asked.

Yeah, Kai was screwed. There was no way in hell he could make it further than this. They would have to be insane to let him on the team, after all they were right... he couldn't play baseball. He barely even knew the rules. But Taehyun. Kai was so desperate for Taehyun that he didn't know what to do. He felt embarrassed, standing there like that. His eyes couldn't help but focus on Taehyun though as he slightly nodded at the points the rest of the boys brought up. Taehyun was only a few feet away from Kai, and Kai's heart was about to beat of out of his chest. His hand was on his hip, and his head cocked to the side as his doughy brown eyes stared into Kai's. Finally, he spoke up, leaving Kai utterly dumbfounded. "I'll take him on. He's with me. I'll teach him everything he needs to know about baseball and I'm sure he can become a valuable member of our team. I mean, look at him, his look just screams 'baseball'."

Kai forgot how to breathe. Taehyun, the boy he drooled over every single day of his existence, was going to personally teach Kai how to play baseball. It was a dream come true, almost.

Taehyun glanced back to the rest of his teammates and then back at Kai. "Besides, we all started at the bottom anyhow. Look at us now, the best in the prefecture. I'm sure he's a fast learner, it'll be fine. Plus, he can sit in just in case one of you can't play. Like, some sort of desperate sitatuation..." He carefully placed his hand under his chin as if he were deep in though. ". . . a bench warmer, if you will."

His teammates nodded when they considered what Taehyun had said. He did make a good point, after all.

Beomgyu and Yeonjun had pulled Taehyun over after his grand speech, and it stood like that for about thirty seconds until Taehyun finally turned around, grinning ever so slightly.

Before Kai could even get a word in, Taehyun grabbed his hand and pulled him into the locker room. Kai had his sports bag thrown over his shoulder the whole time, but forgot about it despite it being completely dead weight. He was too distracted by everything Taehyun was doing to really care.

"Get changed here and I'll teach you how to even hold a bat in a few." Taehyun winked, pointing over to the far side of the locker room where a single uniform sat. He then left the room.

Well. What even was this? It had all happened so quickly, and here Kai was, standing in the middle of the locker room staring at his feet. His bag had slipped so far off his shoulder that it now practically laid in his hand, threatening to fall to the floor. Kai wasn't aware of whether he should have taken Soobin's advice or not, because it was sort of obvious the other team members didn't know what to do with him. But Taehyun stepped in and was taking helping Kai upon himself, even though he didn't have to. This was why Kai liked him. He was so selfless and caring that it ultimately made him sick.

Kai pulled his shirt over his head as he stumbled over to his newfound locker. The frigid air of the locker room nipped at his skin as he quickly changed. The uniform was basic, and Kai wondered if he could ever get an official uniform like the rest of them. He thought the better he did on the team, the more he would be wanted to stay. The more he would be valued and be apart of something. Depending on how he did, he could get closer to Taehyun too. How come he had never thought of this before?

Before too long, Kai managed to shimmy into his uniform and exited the locker room. Outside, the intense August heat shot straight at him and his eyes hadn't quite yet adjusted to the sunlight. Before he could grasp what he needed to do, Taehyun appeared in front of him.

His smile was almost, if not brighter, than the sun itself.

Taehyun grabbed Kai slightly by the wrist and took him out more into the field, a small smile tugging at his lips. When they arrived in the middle of the field, he sharply turned around and looked Kai straight in the eyes. "Listen, I don't know why you decided to join us, but don't fret if you don't grasp anything immediately. I'm here to help, and happy to do it."

Kai nodded, forcing his blush down. But he could still feel his cheeks burning.

"Thank you, Taehyun..." Kai started, staring at his feet. "It means a lot." He was so awkward he wanted to cry.

Taehyun laughed. "Stop being so weird about it, just look at me, stupid. If it makes you feel better, we could sit down and chat to ease your nerves."

Kai glanced up, ever so slightly staring into Taehyun's eyes. "Yeah, you're right. Just nervous about embarrassing myself, I guess. But thank you, I’d like that."

The two boys walked shoulder to shoulder over to the dugout, Taehyun stepping out in front of Kai to let him enter first. It was much cooler there than standing out in the open sun. Kai was thankful for Taehyun, and it was kind of him to offer to do this. He didn’t think anyone would care about his nerves enough to let him have time to calm them. This was the beauty of Taehyun after all, already proving himself to be as perfect as Kai had always thought. He thought about telling this to Soobin later, and how Soobin would make fun of him for it. No doubt claiming that Kai was in love.

“Thank you.” Kai suddenly breathed, breaking the silence.

Taehyun sat across from him, hands on his knees, nodding at Kai’s words. “It’s the least I could do, Kai.” He replied surely. “You’re taking a big chance here, so I only want you to do your best. It wouldn’t be fair to you if I forced you to do something when you’re too busy being a nervous wreck. I know because it was done to me, and no one was there for me to let me fix myself.” He stopped for a second, as if to consider his next words. “In truth, I think I make this whole sports thing look a lot easier than it really is. I actually don’t like it much, if at all. It’s more of something my parents forced me into for schooling reasons. You know, if I got good, I could be scouted. I understand that, but it was a lot of pressure. I knew I had to be good or I would let my parents down. On top of being the star player, I have to balance school and all the relationships that come with it. It all just gets worse when you consider my feelings for people...” His voice trailed off into nothing.

Kai shook his head furiously, his head buzzing with a million thoughts. So many, in fact, that he could barely get out these next few words. He knew it couldn’t compare or even slightly voice how he truly felt, but his mind was a mess. “I’m sorry.”

Taehyun looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “Nah, dude, don’t be sorry.” He suddenly stood up and plopped down next to Kai. He could tell Taehyun wore a forced smile. “I’m turning my negative experience into your positive one.”

Kai felt himself smile at that, looking down at his lap. He couldn’t make himself look at Taehyun right now, even if it seemed like he’s already spent hours staring at the boy before.

“What, do I make you nervous?” Taehyun said suddenly but casually, his voice hiding a bit of sultry tones.

Kai nervously laughed and looked up at Taehyun in the eye. “No way.” His heart was beating so fast. “I mean… Maybe a little. You’ve always seemed so amazing to me, you know? Top of your classes, and star of the team although it’s only your first year. You’re friends with everyone you meet, and I don’t know, there’s just something about you I can’t quite put my finger on exactly.”

With those words, Taehyun only moved closer to Kai. Their faces were only a few inches apart. "That means a lot to me. More than you know. Thank you."

Kai felt his heart drop to his stomach. They were close, he just wanted to kiss the older boy. His face was burning, and he knew it was red. Taehyun continued to stare at him.

"You're so cute." Taehyun said next. "Don't think I haven't ever noticed you though. It's so adorable how you and your friend stay to watch us everyday. Believe it or not, the whole entire team enjoys your company. But even despite that, I notice you in class a lot too. You're hard to ignore."

This was it. Kai's ultimate demise. He just sat there while Taehyun complimented him. Taehyun was actually complimenting him. This was only ever something Kai could dream of.

"I..." Kai stopped for a second when he took more notice of Taehyun's lips. He had to focus. "I'm just nervous of not being good enough. Especially here in front of you."

Taehyun pulled slightly back at Kai's words. "Oh god, seriously, don't worry about that. I’m just glad you’re able to tell me this. You'll do fine, I know you will. Just believe in yourself and also, don't accidentally whack yourself in the face. I've done that before..."

Kai managed a laugh and started to stand up. "You have? Jesus, that must've hurt. Anyway, I think we should go. I'm ready."

Taehyun cocked an eyebrow and stepped closer to Kai, grinning. "Oh yeah? Well don't worry, Kai, seriously, you'll be great. I'm taking a chance on you here, don't make me regret it." His hands were now placed firmly on his hips, and Kai had just noticed the baseball bat resting in his hand.

Regret. He couldn't stand the thought of making Taehyun regret helping him out. It was the last thing he would want.

They walked back out into the field, where they originally stood ten minutes before.

Kai tried to shake off his bad feelings but he was way too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice Taehyun snaking around him, grabbing his hands gingerly. Kai could feel his heart drop to his feet yet again as Taehyun's arms were wrapped around him, helping Kai grasp the bat.

God, he felt so _gay._

He was barely able to get a hold of the bat properly, as he was nervously sweating. He went from never speaking to Taehyun to Taehyun nearly engulfing him. Sure, it wasn't in the way that he had ever imagined (not that he really imagined anything...), but it was a step up from yesterday. A huge one.

It was going so incredibly well, Kai couldn't believe it. So well in fact that Taehyun moved away from Kai as fast as he had moved there in the first place, since Kai had a nice hold of the bat on the first try. Damn him and his ability to pick things up quickly.

"Alright now, just swing!" Taehyun exclaimed, grinning again.

Kai looked at him worriedly, "Just... swing?"

"Yes, stupid."

He gulped. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Taehyun, but then again, this was one of the only times Taehyun had ever stared at him like this. Might as well make the most of it. He figured he couldn't mess this up.

Until he did.

He swung the bat at full force, knowing it was a little messier from that of what he's seen from the other boys on the team.

A small rush of adrenaline moved through him, as he grinned, turning back to look at Taehyun so he could receive praise.

Though what he saw wasn't anything he had ever expected. There was Taehyun, clutching the right side of his face, leaning down into the grass, squirming and struggling to stay up right. Kai didn't even realize but he must have accidentally hit Taehyun straight in the face.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Kai dropped the bat immediately and scrambled down next to Taehyun, color drained from his face and his back burning in complete embarrassment. "I-- I didn't mean to, I swear to god. I didn't even notice the bat coming in contact with your face! And the bat was metal... jesus christ I am so utterly sorry. Just-- I--" He couldn't form proper sentences. Kai watched blood slowly trickle down Taehyun's face, underneath his hands.

Taehyun's back arched slightly as Kai put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm okay." He managed to squeeze out.

"We need to get you to the nurse, Taehyun."

All he could respond with was a small shrug.

Kai helped Taehyun walk out of the field, the other boys on the team gawking at them. Their mouths were dropped in surprise and the two boys scooched past them. Taehyun was leaning on Kai, his arm shaking as he still held it over his face. Kai noticed the color had drained from the part of his face not hit by the bat, all the blood probably rushing to the injured side.

"I'm so. Fucking. Sorry." Kai kept repeating over and over again as they walked to the nurse.

Taehyun kept replying with the same thing too. That it was okay. Even though it obviously wasn't.

He kept replaying what happened in his head while the nurse tried her best to fix him, and she stated it was definitely a black eye. Thankfully it didn't appear to be anything more.

Kai sat there for what felt like hours, though it only ended up being fifteen minutes. Taehyun was out in no time, an eye patch placed over his eye, bruises cascading down his face from it. Once Kai had really looked at him, he felt a tear run down his face. He felt so awful and he wasn't sure how he could make it up to Taehyun. It almost felt as if there was no way to.

"I'm sorry. So fucking sorry." Kai said again, hugging Taehyun. On impulse. He hugged Taehyun on impulse.

Taehyun thankfully hugged back and scoffed after the hug broke. "Chill out, don't be so dramatic. I already said I'm fine. I should've backed up when I knew you were going to swing. Especially since you've never done it before, I really should've known."

"Don't blame yourself. I should've been more aware of how much damage I could do with that thing. It's on both of us." Kai said quietly, staring at his feet. He couldn't look at Taehyun's face. He started to cry a little more.

Taehyun hummed in response, grabbing Kai's hand and running over his knuckles with his finger. "Calm down. If I had known you would cry this much, I would've done something else to keep it from happening. Even if it was inevitable, I'm sure I could do more to keep you from crying."

Taehyun's hands were really soft, there was no denying that. It helped him keep a slight focus of not letting anymore tears roll down his face.

"Okay then, just let me walk you home? Just to make sure you're really alright. I don't know if I could live with myself if I let you get hurt more. Don't want you to like... get mugged or something."

Taehyun grinned and gave a small laugh. "Oh, shut up, you're really sweet. I'll allow you to walk me home, as long as you promise not to cry. Also, I'm not sure I would get mugged but thank you for considering it."

Kai sniffled but nodded. "Promise."

They returned to the field for a short moment to let the rest of the team know Taehyun was okay. They didn't up being mad at Kai, and were just thankful Taehyun didn't severely damage any part of his face. After checking in with the team, they made their way to the locker room to change out of their uniforms. Kai had to help Taehyun left his shirt over his face so that he didn't accidentally knock his eye. Once they finished changing and grabbed all of their things, it was time to head home. By this point, it was still hot outside, but not the blistering heat they had experienced a few hours before. It must have took them longer to sort everything out than Kai had originally thought because the sun had already started to set, and the clouds started to roll in. The last of the sun illuminated the clouds from behind, giving them a golden outline against the mid-blue sky. 

On the walk home, Taehyun took hold of Kai's hand. When Taehyun had initially grabbed it, it sent a shock through Kai's core. His face, as well as his back, burned of embarrassment. Taehyun must have picked up on it because he hugged in closer to Kai, laughing to himself. "You bothered or something?"

"In a good way, if that's possible." Kai answered, squeezing Taehyun's hand. "Didn't expect you to hold my hand, that's all."

Taehyun hummed in slight response, slowing his walk. Kai noticed the slower pace, and soon Taehyun had stopped walking as a whole. Kai looked back at him in confusion, but Taehyun jumped to where he stood in front of the younger boy.

"This is my stop." Taehyun said, grinning. He was still holding Kai's hand.

Kai looked down at their intertwined hands and back up at Taehyun. "Oh, I didn't noti-"

"I really, really, _really_ like you, Kai."

Before Kai could register what was happening, Taehyun pulled him into a kiss. The kiss was deep, and Kai relished every moment of it. It wasn't too rough, but it wasn't light, either. Kai returned the kiss quickly, placing his hands on Taehyun's hips, forcing the boy to be closer to him. Taehyun lightly moaned into the kiss, his arms wrapped around Kai's neck.

The two boys eventually pulled back from each other, but soon went in for another after the silence stood for too long. This time, Kai moaned into Taehyun's mouth, and chills spread throughout his body.

After seconds of kissing each other there, Kai had stepped back to catch his breath and get over the shock of the situation. Taehyun peered at him hopefully.

"Yeah." Kai said lightly. "I really, really, _really_ like you too. I've always liked you."

Taehyun smiled brightly and launched himself onto Taehyun, hugging the boy as tight as he possibly could. "I'm so glad. I've never liked anyone like you before. Hell, I've never really liked anyone in general."

Kai had his arms firmly around Taehyun. "You've always been the one for me."

The two boys then spent another fifteen minutes, now sitting outside of Taehyun's home, watching the sun set. They shared a few more kisses and Kai revealed how long he had really liked Taehyun for. It was completely nervewracking but now that he knew Taehyun liked him back, his nerves did ease.

At the end of the night, Taehyun waved Kai off. "I'll see you at practice tomorrow!" He grinned. "Can't believe I'm teaching my boyfriend how to play baseball. Kind of cliche, huh?"

Yeah, it was totally cliche. Though Kai wouldn't have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote the kiss scene while listening to i want it that way by the backstreet boys and i kinda think that's amazing
> 
> leave comments n kudos !! thanks for reading (:


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